BEIJING, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese start-up Xiaozhu decided to further expand its business from home-sharing to other accommodation services in its latest move to tap the rapidly changing and growing market thanks to the country's booming tourism sector.
The company rebranded itself Friday, aiming to become a provider of featured and quality accommodation experiences as Chinese lodgers tend to prefer houses with individuality and sound services during their travels.
Data from the State Information Center showed that about 80 million Chinese experienced home-sharing in 2018. About half of its users born in the 1980s and 1990s chose featured accommodation services such as bed and breakfasts, short rentals and inns in 2018, Xiaozhu found in a survey.
"The accommodation market is evolving, and it's natural to develop from a single platform to a sound industrial ecosystem," said Xiaozhu co-founder and CEO Kelvin Chen.
In a bid to build a one-stop accommodation service platform, the company will develop more off-line services such as airport transfer and luggage delivery in some pilot cities in addition to its popular house cleaning service, according to Xiaozhu's Chief Operating Officer Tarry Wang.
Founded in 2012 and known as China's Airbnb, the Beijing-based firm has over 800,000 house listings on its platform covering more than 700 cities and destinations worldwide. It saw businesses expand nine-fold in the past two years, with marked growth in Chinese rural areas and overseas markets.
